MR. FLEISCHER: I'll go over the schedule and then we have some
ground rules, because we have a guest briefer this morning.

The President this morning will stop in three places, or today will
stop in three places. In Illinois, he will support the campaign of
Congressman John Shimkus for reelection, Jim Durkin for the U.S.
Senate, Jim Ryan for Governor, and the Illinois Republican ticket.

In Minnesota, he will support the campaign of Norm Coleman for
Senate, Tim Pawlenty for governor, John Kline for the 2nd Congressional
District and the Minnesota Republican ticket. And in South Dakota, the
President will support the campaigns of Congressman John Thune for the
U.S. Senate, Bill Janklow for the at-large congressional district, Mike
Rounds for governor and the South Dakota Republican ticket. And then
we will overnight in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

And we are joined this morning by somebody who will be identified,
please, as a senior administration official. And with that, if you
have any questions, happy to take them.

Q Actually, we do have a couple other matters for you. Do
you want to do that first, and then --

MR. FLEISCHER: Why don't we do that at the end? That way our
briefer can resume his --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, there are a number of Senate
races in the country that are going to be settled by a small number of
votes. And we want to be participating in those races to the degree
that the candidate is comfortable and to the degree that it would be
positive.

Q How do you feel now, Mr. Official, about chances in this
election? Are you looking just not to suffer great losses, or do you
think you'll actually win?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: This really is -- the line is,
every election is more important, the most important election in
history. This may not be the most important, but it's going to be one
of the most interesting, because something is going to happen here
that's historical.

If the Republicans keep the House of Representatives, it would be a
pretty extraordinary accomplishment. If they lose less than five seats
in the House, it will be the first time since 1962 that that's
happened. It will be the best performance since Kennedy's performance
in the off-year election in '62. If Republicans pick up seats in the
House, it will be the first time since 1932 that that's happened in the
first off-year election of a President's term. In fact, it's only
happened twice since the Civil War, once in 1932 in the first -- excuse
me, 1934 in the first election after Roosevelt's, and in 1998, the
first off-year election of Clinton's second term.

But that's the only time that it's happened in off-year elections
that a party has picked -- the White House party has picked up seats in
an off-year election. So this would be the first -- it would be the
first time since 1934 in an off-year election -- the first off-year
election of a President's term if we were to pick up seats in the
House.

If the Republicans take control of the Senate, it would be the
first time in American history that the President's party took control
of the Senate in an off-year -- in the first off-year election. So
while the contests will be decided by local issues and the quality of
the candidates and the quality of their campaigns, something historic
is going to happen at the end of this election.

Q Despite the fact that you've got a number of toss-ups that
you guys are tracking closely, do you view it as more of an uphill
battle to get the Senate, as opposed to keeping the House?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, we've got the majority in
the House, so that's always easier to try and keep something than to
try and gain something. But I will repeat, this is going to be settled
by a relatively small number of votes, potentially, and a relatively
small number of contests in both the House and the Senate. And it's
going to be a close election.

Q So let me just follow on one point. What -- strategically
what role does the President play in this final rush? What impact does
all of that have, and on what specifically?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think the biggest advantage that
he has is helping to frame a -- to the degree that it's important in
races, and it varies -- the importance of it varies from race to race
-- he helps frame the issue agenda.

You saw a little bit of this on the front page of the New York
Times, and the New York Times/CBS poll, which I took as incredibly good
news. Half the American people said the Republicans have got an agenda
for the future, less than a third of all Americans said the Democrats
have an agenda for the future.

So I think that's the biggest way that he makes it possible.
People say, the Republicans have an agenda because I hear the President
talking about what he's going to do to make the homeland safe, what
he's going to do to make the economy stronger, and what he's going to
do to make America a better place. That substance, if you will, is
very powerful in helping candidates.

Now, that varies from race to race, because the quality of
candidates and the quality of their individual campaigns is going to
matter so much in this election. But it is very helpful. The other
thing is, is that he obviously helps showcase candidates in a way that
they can't showcase themselves.

I remember this from our first visit to New Hampshire for John
Sununu, where had -- we looked at his remarks for his introduction of
the President in front of a crowd of about 2,500 people, and he had
about a minute and 15 seconds worth of remarks. Well, it went on for
like nine minutes. And so afterwards I admonished him behind the
podium. I said, what was it with that long introduction? He said, I
couldn't help myself. I got in front of the largest crowd I'm ever
going to speak to in this campaign and talked.

So this allows these candidates to be showcased in a way they might
otherwise get to be showcased.

Q What Senate races are you most confident in and which are
you least confident in?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm most confident in the ones
that we're going to win, and I'm least confident about the ones that
are very close.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think this is a race that
was affected by two traumatic events, one more traumatic than the
other. Obviously the death of Paul Wellstone changed this race
dramatically.

Ironically enough, I personally knew a Republican Senate candidate
who in 1978 was killed in an airplane crash. And I found out about it
when I got off the plane in August of 1978 in Minneapolis St. Paul. So
sort of a dj vu all over again. But that obviously changed the dynamic
of the race. And the choice of Vice President Mondale is a pretty
formidable candidate.

I think though, also, the memorial service caused people to look at
this. They saw the way in which Coleman handled this with grace and
with dignity and with respect, and I think people were offended by some
of the things that were said and done at that memorial service.

But you know, it's going to end up, this is going to be one of the
campaigns that's going to be -- somebody is going to write a wonderful
doctoral thesis on this, because the campaign is going to be affected
very minutely by the traditional trappings of a campaign; that is to
say, television ads and mail and phone calls.

And what it's going to really be affected by is almost the minute
attention that is going to be paid by the voters in the state of
Minnesota to the every action and every word of each of these
candidates. And as a result, with a very accomplished candidate in
Walter Mondale, who has been through high profile campaigns for the
White House and three times run for the Vice Presidency or the
Presidency, and with this very accomplished and energetic young
candidate in the form of Norm Coleman, you're going to have a very
interesting race, all the way through the final moment.

Q Is he up against a hill here against Mondale, at this
point? Do you figure you're a little bit behind the eight-ball going
--

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: You know, this morning there were
two polls published in Minnesota, one showing Coleman up and one
showing Mondale up. I think that shows up in the air this race is.
And again, I'd repeat, this is going to be a race in which every
gesture, every word, every action is going to be taken by the voter,
retained and then used to evaluate the two candidates.

For example, 55 percent of the people -- I've been told that 55
percent of the people who had a television set on the night of the
memorial service were tuned in in Minnesota to the memorial service.
That's about twice as good as conventions get. So you can see that
there's a high degrees of interest. People in that part of the world
have an interest in politics, and it's even more avid this year.

Q What's the intended gesture of the President's appearance
and remarks today?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: To show that he strongly supports
Norm Coleman; that Norm Coleman is an energetic young leader who's
demonstrated his ability to get things done as mayor of St. Paul; has
demonstrated an ability to work across party lines to get things done;
somebody who cares about education; somebody who's helped create jobs;
somebody who has a common sense, middle of the road philosophy that's
in keeping with Minnesota.

Q Does this suggest that -- that his appearance today
suggests that Coleman is no longer treading lightly in the wake of
Wellstone's death?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Well, I think the nature of the
campaign was changed -- was changed for both candidates. There are
now, sort of, constraints on each candidate of what they can and cannot
do and what's appropriate and not appropriate. And to the degree that
they understand that and abide by those sort of not well defined, but I
think pretty strongly felt sort of admonitions by the voters they'll
succeed and prosper.

Q Going down the stretch here, the President --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Yes, Stretch. (Laughter.)

Q -- the President's remarks have been fairly typical from
place to place. Obviously, you know, we all know the speech. Are we
going to hear anything different in Minnesota?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm not certain -- you know, I've
seen that -- you all aren't paying close enough attention. For
example, yesterday in Atlanta, he talked at greater length about
homeland security, for example. Last night he talked more about
education. He talked about how Jeb would not make -- would not make
commitments he couldn't keep, that he was a guy who would do what he
said. And one of the issues in this campaign, for example, is the
issue of one candidate saying I'm going to increase spending by $15
billion, but I'm not going to tell you how I'm paying for it.

So I would make the argument that if you look back at the
President's comments and -- there are particularly tailored in his own
mind what he wants to say about individual candidates, particularly
when he talks about their views and values and their relationship with
him.

Q I guess what I'm getting at is given everything that has
happened in Minnesota, will we hear anything new or different from the
President that reflects upon everything they've --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think you will hear him reflect
on his knowledge of Norm Coleman -- Norm Coleman's values, his vision,
his record, his attitude, his approach to public service.

Q There was some interesting horseplay out on the tarmac. I
can only attribute that to this punishing schedule. Is the President
getting stir crazy at all with all this travel and all these hours?

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I would say that the horseplay on
the tarmac -- which was completely inappropriate -- did not involve the
President, but instead involved the President's chief communicator
attempting to air the dirty laundry of another member of the
President's traveling party in front of the press. And I think this is
reprehensible conduct. And I know the President feels strongly about
this serious divide among members of his senior staff.

MR. FLEISCHER: Let me -- hold on -- here for a second. There has
been a serious accusation by the press, and this is a tight-lipped
White House. As part of our new sunshine policy to let the press into
things that previously unseen, it's important for this senior
administration official's dirty laundry to be aired.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I wish you wouldn't use my name,
incidentally. (Laughter.) The socks were blue. It was a white
t-shirt that said "national marine fisheries program." The pajamas
were blue.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I think this is going to be really
one of the most interesting elections to watch. And, again, it's
because of the sort of -- somebody is going to make history. Only
three times in the entire history of the country has any party gained
seats in the U.S. House of Representatives three elections in a row --
more than three elections in a row, excuse me.

So the Democrats, if they're able to, having gained seats in '96,
'98 and 2000, to gain -- they'll make history. On the other hand, if
Republicans lose less than five seats, it'll be the first time that
that's happened in an off-year, the first off-year election since
1962. If Republicans gain seats in the House, it'll be the first time
since 1934 in the first off-year election. And before that, you have
to go back to the turmoil before the Civil War in order to find that.

So if the Republicans gain control of the Senate, it'll be the
first time in American history that that's happened for a President in
his first off-year election. So this is going to be -- and it's going
to be, I think, settled. These races are going to be settled.
Remember, the last three races for the U.S. House of Representatives
have been settled by a difference of less than 1 percent in the total
vote for Republicans and Democrats. I think the widest gap is just
over 1 percent. In the last three elections.

So we're in a period where the two parties are very competitive
and, as a result, we're likely to see some very close races all across
the country.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: David, I'd correct you. I said
that -- when I made the reference about the issues, I was talking about
the President in his comments in these races. I think these races are
going to be deeply effective, more than normal, by local issues.

For example, in South Dakota, forest policy of the Rapid City area
is going to be important. In Minnesota, the issue of drug importation
is going to be important. In Missouri, the effectiveness and standing
for Missouri values on a whole series of issues is going to be
important.

So I think while it's important that the President create a
national agenda to help give some of these people a banner to repair
to, at the end of the day it's going to be the quality of the
candidates, the quality of their effort and how they handle the range
of issues of local concern -- of state concern that's going to matter.

But the President will have an impact in it. And I repeat, it's a
very close election. An all-out effort is being waged. We will see
the largest expenditures in any off-year election ever by labor, by the
National Abortion Rights Action League, by the Sierra Club, by the
League of Conservation Voters, by the National Organization of Women,
by the People for the American Way, by a whole host of liberal special
interest groups. We will see them, in some instances, spending more
than they did in the 2000 election. And while that makes an uphill
climb, in addition to simply the historical trend of a President in his
first off-year election suffering losses generally in the Senate and
suffering losses almost without exception in the House, will
nonetheless, I think we stand a chance of doing some good things
election --

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: No, the President said, it's up to
Norm Coleman. I want to come. But if he thinks it'll be helpful. And
Norm Coleman said, I think it'd be helpful, let's wait on announcing
for a couple of days about it; but he said, I'd love to help you come.
Never any hesitation on -- you know, unnamed interns at the White House
were opining to you again.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: Look, this is a President who came
into office seeking to advance an agenda, to achieve goals, to cut the
taxes, to pass an education reform package, to expand trade, to
encourage economic growth, to change our government health system so it
more effective serves the needs of patients and communities. And he
wants to advance his agenda.

So the reason that he's out lending a hand wherever he is asked and
where he can make a difference, hopefully, for the good is because he
wants to help elect people who will help advance his agenda, people who
he thinks are in sympathy with his values and his vision. And that's
the responsibility of any leader.

And we also know that if the President -- if the President
advocates an agenda, it not only wins the support of Republicans, it
also wins the support of Democrats and Independent voters and Democrat
office holders. I would remind you, the tax cut passed the U.S. Senate
with the support of, I think, 12 or 13 Democrats. The education bill
passed the House and the Senate with the support of a good many
Democrats. The trade promotion authority bill, while it passed with
fewer Democrat votes than it garnered when Clinton was in office,
nonetheless garnered a substantial number of Democrat votes in
passing.

And so if the President, by campaigning around the country, helps
articulate a public support for his agenda that makes it easy for
Democrats who agree with him to vote for him -- because there are
Democrats who cross pressure between the demands of their caucus and
the demands of the electorate, would like to go with the demands of the
electorate if they're given an opportunity. And by advocating his
message and demonstrating its popularity, he helps provide that.

Thank you actually Stretch and Super Stretch. (Laughter.)

Q Senior Administration Official, you sound like such an
academic when you say it's going to be so interesting. Is that when
you sit back and go, God, this is going to be interesting? I find you
more passionate than that.

SENIOR ADMINISTRATION OFFICIAL: I'm a passionate individual.

MR. FLEISCHER: I will fill you in on details of the passion.
(Laughter.) All right.

Q Ari, what about this Financial Times report about Iranian
officials capturing al Qaeda members and maybe even bin Laden's son?
Is that accurate? Have you been informed of that?

MR. FLEISCHER: I'm aware of the reports. We are looking into it.
At this point, I can't go beyond that. We are looking into it.

MR. FLEISCHER: North Korea knows what it needs to do. It needs to
dismantle its nuclear program and honor its treaty obligations. North
Korea in 1994 entered into a quid pro quo, and it's inappropriate for
North Korea to say that, we will walk away from our quid and ask for
more quo. They entered an agreement, they should abide by the
agreement, and that's why we're working in concert with our allies.

Q -- ready to talk to them? Are these positive developments,
these statements from them?

MR. FLEISCHER: -- continue to work with our allies about this.
But it is not a question of talking; it's a question of action. North
Korea should not have abandoned its obligations, and that's what
they've done. Make no mistake, North Korea entered into an agreement,
said that they would abandon a nuclear development program in return
for work that was done on the nuclear power reactors. Work continued
to be done on the nuclear power reactors, but North Korea gave its word
and didn't keep it. North Korea needs to keep its word.

Q What's the first step that you want to see, the first
concrete step from them?

MR. FLEISCHER: Dismantlement of its nuclear program.

Q -- the U.S.?

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, we continue to talk to our allies about the
approach to take, so North Korea will proceed to honor their word.
Once a sovereign nation gives its word as part of an agreement, it's
very important for that nation to live up to its agreement, otherwise
it makes it harder to enter into future agreements.

MR. FLEISCHER: Well, the U.N. again doesn't work over the
weekends, so I don't think we'll have any kind of more reliable
estimate on how close we are until some point on Monday, after they
come back. They'll ultimately determine the timing.

I don't think any of the international observers expect a vote
prior to Tuesday or on Tuesday.

Q There's a report, I think it was on CNN, Al Faisal said
that the U.S. could not use Saudi bases for any attacks against Iraq.
Are you aware of that? Do you have a reaction?

MR. FLEISCHER: As in all cases, I don't talk about operational
issues or basing issues. That's something that the Department of
Defense would talk about.

Q On sort of a more diplomatic level, I mean, that would seem
to go against the level of cooperations that --

MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I just am not going to get into the issue of
basing.

Q Do you know of any world leader calls by the President
today or tomorrow?

MR. FLEISCHER: None today. I'll let you know if there are any
tomorrow.

Q Does the President still have a head cold?

MR. FLEISCHER: Yeah -- no, he seemed fine this morning.

Q Did he get some exercise in, or did he actually sleep in?

MR. FLEISCHER: Sleeping in for President Bush could be 5:45 a.m.
He ran on a treadmill this morning prior to the trip.

Q -- anybody last night after the rally?

MR. FLEISCHER: Not that I'm aware of. We all came back in and
it's a very boring White House -- well, with some exceptions, perhaps.
(Laughter.)

MR. DICKENS: I was asleep by 8:45 p.m.

Q Did Jeb come over to the hotel? Did they hang out last
night?

MR. FLEISCHER: No, he wasn't in the motorcade on the way back.

Q What's Karen and Mary Matalin going to be talking about on
the shows? What's the message you guys want to get out?

MR. FLEISCHER: I saw Karen's show this morning on Fox, and it's
politics as you would suspect. A lot of questions about the races.
Mary and Karen are doing the tour together, campaigning in various
states on behalf of candidates.

Q Will there be any chance that we would be able to get on
camera some sort of statement of confidence in Harvey Pitt, as you guys
have done on background and you have said in your briefings?

MR. FLEISCHER: You know, our usual pattern is when the President
travels, it's a gaggle that's on the record, and the President's the
voice of the administration on travel days. So I don't know that
that's going to change.

Q Ari, you've been so cryptic about saying, at least on the
record, that the President supports Harvey Pitt. But to any observer,
he has over these last many months and including this last incident
become a distraction for this administration and its efforts to crack
down on corporate malfeasance. Would you not concede that? Does the
President not feel that?

MR. FLEISCHER: Again, I think that everything that I intend to say
about this, I've said. I'm not going to go beyond what I've said.